The Brisbane floods of 2011 caused widespread havoc, especially to the west of the city. With major floods also occurring in 2010 and minor to moderate flooding now occurring quite frequently in Queensland, many Queenslanders are turning to house raising as a means of ensuring the safety of their families, pets and belongings. House raising is an almost sure-fire way to reduce flood damage to your home, but it does require some know-how to gain approval from your local council. 

Do I Need a Permit to Raise my House in Brisbane?

In many cases, a building permit is required for a house raising and/or restumping project in Brisbane. This includes house raising, restumping, stump deletion, the building of retaining walls over one metre high and alterations to the plumbing and electrical work (which is often necessary when raising a house). 

There are several classes of buildings, which cover buildings including dwellings (houses), flats, boarding houses and hostels, caretakers residences, offices, shops and the like, warehouses, factories, schools, hospitals, public and assembly buildings, garages, carports, sheds, fences and masts (outbuildings etc.). Each class has different requirements and application processes to acquire a permit. Having more than 30 years of combined experience as professional house raisers and re-stumpers in Brisbane, the crew at Raise My House will direct you as to who to talk to for your approval process. 

What Else Should I be Aware of When Raising After a Flood?

A few pointers: 

• Seek a professional assessment of your home by raising and restumping experts before proceeding with any work. 

• Make sure your house raising or restumping contractor is a registered member of the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC).

• Take note of the service provider’s value-for-money, but don’t make a decision solely based on price. A cheap, job may be dangerous and costly to fix as it can cause further damage to the floors, walls, ceilings, doors and windows.

• The new flood free, habitable floor height of the house is predetermined by the Council flood maps and you will need to engage a surveyor to determine what this height is, so that you know how high you need to raise.

• A good tip is to look at what others have been allowed to do in the street, this is a good indicator for what will be required by you.

• If council hasn’t provided pre-determined heights, you may have to engage a Hydraulic Engineer, this is more so associated with raising houses in over land water flow areas identified by Council maps.

• Call your home and contents insurer to find out how house raising might affect your rates. 

For more information about house raising or restumping in Brisbane, contact the experts at Raise My House. We have experience working on flood-affected homes as well as industry insights into development application processes. Let us walk you through your planning, development, construction stages to get your home raised or restumped in a professional and efficient manner.